Living in Moments
by Writersmagnet
Summary: "We do not remember days, we remember moments."-Cesare Pavese. A collection of various types of Percy Jackson one-shots, centered around the moments we remember in life. You like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @writersmagnet! Until then, keep on writing!


**Hey, guys! So this story has been in the shop a while. The updates are going to be very sporadic with this. I released this for the occasion that I GOT 100 FOLLOWERS ON QUOTEV! So yeah, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter at Writersmagnet!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

It was Percy's turn to watch the younger demigods during Capture the Flag.

At Camp Half-Blood, the cabin counselors alternated each week as to who would babysit the younger kids. Normally, Percy wouldn't mind, but ever since the gods made their promise to claim all their children by the time they turn thirteen, the number of young demigods increased dramatically. Before, Percy usually only had to watch one or two kids. Now, he was stuck with around fifteen kids to babysit.

The kids weren't awfully young; they were all between the ages of five and eight, but for all Percy knew, he could be babysitting toddlers. With their ADHD, the kids couldn't stay in one place, and they constantly ran around. Combine that with the infinite energy of a five to eight year-old, and you have something that has more power than the Energizer Bunny on sugar. If Percy turned his head for one second, Hades would break loose.

Percy glanced at the clock in the Big House and sighed. Capture the Flag had just started, and most games typically lasted an hour. He had to come up with something to keep these kids occupied before they broke something. Percy heard a loud vase shatter, and he shook his head. Too late.

Percy felt a tug on his jean leg, and he looked down. A little girl stood there, her big blue eyes looking up at him. Her hair fell down to her shoulder in brunette ringlets, which bounced around as she played. She looked no older than six, with a lollipop stuffed in her mouth that made her perfectly plump cheeks swell to accomodate the candy. She was obviously a daughter of Aphrodite.

"'Ercy?" she said, unable to make the 'p' sound with the lollipop in her mouth. "Can you tell us a story?" Percy felt a wash of power come over him. Tell a story. That sounded like a good idea.

"Sure, I'll tell you a story," Percy said, and he watched as the entire room of kids began sitting in a circle around him. It was then that Percy realized a few things

First, he realized he was charmspoken by a six year-old, and that that same six year-old just charmspoke a room full of little kids to sit around him so that he could tell a story.

Second, he realized that he could keep all these kids quiet, entertained, and out of trouble if he told them this story.

And finally, he realized he didn't actually have a story to tell.

Percy tried to think logically. What would Annabeth do in this situation? And it hit him. He should just tell them Greek myths. There were enough of those to keep these kids occupied for hours.

He shushed the kids. "Okay, so once upon a time, in Greece years and years ago, there lived a boy named Hercules-"

"No Greek myths!" one of the boys shouted. He was a seven year-old boy with blonde hair and big gray eyes. Percy recognized him as one of Annabeth's siblings. "Tell us a real story. With heroes and happy endings." Percy sighed. He was stuck.

He had to tell a story.

He didn't have a story to tell.

He was also pretty sure that if he didn't come up with something quickly, these kids would kill him quicker than all the monsters in Tartarus.

He gave himself an exasperated nod. He could practically hear his girlfriend laughing at him. _Seaweed Brain, you've survived two trips to the Underworld, trekked through the Sea of Monsters, explored the Labyrinth, and fought Kronos, and yet you are still afraid of a room full of little kids?_ And that's when it clicked.

"You guys want to hear a real story?" he asked them. They nodded. "So it all started when a Kindly One attacks a boy while he's on a field trip." And so Percy sat there, telling them the story of an unlucky child of Poseidon who happened to rise when the odds were against him. The son of Poseidon who retrived the lightning bolt, got the Golden Fleece, held up the sky, survived the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, and finally killed the Titan Kronos.

When he finished, one of the children raised her hand. It was the daughter of Aphrodite that had chramspoken him. "What happened to him and the pretty girl?" Percy froze, not exactly sure what to say. From behind him, he could feel someone wrap their arms around him. The person laughed, and Percy caught a glimpse of her golden hair as she kissed him.

"And they lived happily ever after," Annabeth finished for him.


End file.
